The Status of the Native Languages of British Columbia

Almost all of the native languages of British Columbia are dying; most
are seriously endangered. Three languages, Nicola, Pentlatch, and
Tsetsaut, are already extinct. Here are estimates of the number of
speakers of the languages of British Columbia, in order of increasing
number of speakers. Estimates that are recent and considered to be
accurate have a coloured background.

For each language three figures are given. The first is the total number
of speakers. The second is the number of speakers living in British Columbia.
In a few cases these are quite different because a language that is spoken
in British Columbia is spoken primarily elsewhere. The third is the number of speakers under the age of 15. In many ways this is the most important number: if a language is not spoken by children, it is on its deathbed no matter how many older people speak it.

Estimates of numbers of speakers of native languages should generally be
taken with a grain of salt. Unfortunately, the figures available are generally
not very accurate. One reason for this is simply that they are frequently out of date.
For example, even now one still sees figures based on the 1980 census. For languages
that are in good condition, this does not matter so much. The number of speakers
of, say, Italian, has not changed dramatically in 25 years. When a language is dying,
however, 25 years can make a large difference. If all the speakers of a language
are elderly, even if there are quite a few of them, in 25 years the great majority
of them may be gone. For native languages, therefore, older estimates almost always
overestimate the current number of speakers.

Another problem is that information on the number of speakers is rarely collected
systematically. Few bands have ever undertaken any kind of systematic survey
of who speaks what language. The figures reported are usually mere "guesstimates".
Both people reporting on other people's language use and people reporting their own
are prone to bias. Wishful thinking may give rise to overestimates, while a
desire to emphasize the endangerment of the language may produce estimates that
are excessively pessimistic. Lack of public use can lead to undercounting.
If speakers do not use the language in public settings (such as band meetings or church
services), only their friends and family, and often only those of the same age,
will know that they know the language. Others may falsely think that they do not.

Different people have different ideas of what counts as speaking a language.
When we report that a language has so many speakers, we normally mean
that they are fully fluent, and that is how such numbers are usually
interpreted. In practice, people use quite a few different definitions
of what it means to be said to speak language a language. They may
speak haltingly or in limited circumstances. They may understand well but not
actually speak it. They may understand a little bit and not speak at all.
They may just speak and understand a few words and phrases, such as
"hello" and "thank you". Sometimes the bit that they can perform is rather
extensive but is still a set piece. In cultures in which longhouse speeches
are culturally important, some people learn to give a speech but are
otherwise incapable of using the language.

Another problem in counting languages and their speakers is that different people
classify languages differently and give them different names. In some cases
one person may treat two language varieties as dialects of the same language
while another person will distinguish two languages.

The figures given here are for first-language speakers, that is, people
who grew up speaking the language. Good second-language speakers are so
rare that including them would not change the figures very much, but
for some languages there are a few.

Language

Total

BC

BC < 15

Nicola

0

0

0

Pentlatch

0

0

0

Tsetsaut

0

0

0

South Tsimshian

1

1

0

Tagish

2

2

0

Klallam

4

0

0

Squamish

15

15

0

Nuxalk

20

20

0

Straits

20

20

0

Kootenai

30

20

0

Ditidat

30

30

0

Tahltan

35

35

0

Sechelt

40

40

0

Haida

50

35

0

Sekani

50

50

0

Kwak'wala

190

190

0

Halkomelem

200

200

0

Lilloet

200

200

0

Nuuchanulth

200

200

0

Haisla

250

250

0

Shuswap

250

250

40

Beaver

300

200

2

Comox/Sliamon

400

400

0

Kaska

400

200

0

Heiltsuk

450

450

0

Babine-Witsuwit'en

500

500

0

Okanagan

500

300

0

Thompson

500

500

0

Tlingit

575

20

0

Nisga'a

700

700

0

CoastTsimshian

800

750

0

Dakelh

900

900

0

Gitksan

1000

1000

30

Chilcotin

1200

1200

15

Slave

3000

400

0

Saulteau

10000

3

0

Cree

35000

1000

0

Even where the number of speakers seems fairly large, the language is
probably still endangered; very few languages are being learned by
the current generation of children.